OT: Talking Cars Tuesday: What's your biggest gripe among new cars?
We live in an automotive platinum age. When I was a kid, 100K was ancient for a car. Now it's a medium sized milestone. You can practically close your eyes and pick from a list of auto manufacturers and come up with something that will be more reliable, powerful, and fuel efficient than something even 10 years ago, and definitely more than something 20 years ago.
However, not everything is perfect, and, I like to whine. What's your biggest gripe about new cars?
For me it's the death of simplicity. It really hit me when I drove an old fleet Ford Five Hundred a couple years back on a long trip. This car had acutal keys, an AM/FM/CD radio, manual HVAC controls, and manual lights.
And I *loved* it. Something about the simplicity spoke to me, and actually made my driving less stressful and busy. It was a great road trip. My Miata is the same way.
I admit, I may be getting old, and you can all get off my lawn. But still...
My '07 Commander has been acting wierd (trying to waterproof my driveway with oil, for example) and I've been looking online at new/used cars. It's damned hard to find a car that doesn't have automagic everything and a screen the size of a small tablet in the center stack, or $400 easily losable key fobs.
What, if any, are your gripes?
My wife has a Lincoln with the start/stop. She likes it but I can't stand it. There's a button on the dash to disable the feature but you have to turn it off every time the car is started.
They don't have that feature to turn it off for good because then auto companies wouldn't get the greenhouse gas credits which are the reason they included them in the first place.
Cadillacs have a feature to turn it off but it turns back on with every ignition cycle meaning you have to turn it off every time you start the car. I've experimented with it in my Cadillac CTS to see what the effect was on gas mileage and it was negligble really.
Talk to an auto engineer. The whole push is to meet CAFE standards. And the start/stop thing is not because consumers like it; it is to find yet another way to obtain some tiny % of fuel saving.
All I think about, is how many 8 and 9 year-old cars with that feature will stop on southbound I-75 at 7:30 am in February, and not start.
Ridiculous.
My Audi screams at me if the engine isn't shut off and I open my door. So, so loud but also a good thing apparently.
I was not at all familiar with it. The first light I stopped when the engine stopped I was freaking out a bit. I then realized that was a "feature" of the vehicle. Sure, I can turn it off with the press of a button, but I HATE having do it every time I start the vehicle. Pain in the ass.
The more the new cars become dependent on tech, the less confidence I have in getting where I want to go without something going wrong.
Bought a Chevy Bolt five months ago. After 140 miles (no, not a typo . . . 140 miles), the battery needed to be replaced. As you can imagine, needing a battery replacement in an electric car is a bit different from getting a battery replaced in a traditional car. Took over a week to get this so-called advanced car back from the dealer. Couple of months later, the touch screen locked. No more tuning the radio, no more volume control, no changing audio sources.
The more tech you add, the more opportunity for shit to go wrong.
Oh, and never buy a Chevy Bolt. EVER.
There are more than 100 million lines of code in a new car, mostly produced by humans. They test the hell out of it, but still...
The push for more automation and computer controlled everything. Electronics, in general, aren't noted for their reliability, and automating everything makes it feel like you're driving an appliance instead of a car.
Also that very few new car offerings at reasonable rates offer an intoxicating driving experience. The cheaper cars that handle well are woefully underpowered (BRZ/86, Miata, etc.) - for a hair over $30k you can get a Camry with a 300hp V6, but the best you can do on a $25k 86 is a 205hp 4-banger. Other companies reserve the "track day" type of cars for the top of the line versions only. For about $37k you can get a 455hp Camaro 1SS that handles like a barge, but if you want a Camaro that actually takes corners reasonably well you have to get the 650hp version that goes for north of $60k.
That a full size car like the 2018 Ford Taurus matches the gas milage of my 2000 Crown Vic. What have they been doing for 18 years? My other gripe is that rear/side windows on sedans/crossovers are way too small. Idk if it's a reliance on back-up cameras or what is going on.
Taurus: 288HP, 18/27 mpg, 3900lbs
Vic: 200HP, 16/23mpg, 3900lbs
The other super major tech is how much safer the 2018 is, without weighing any more! As well as the emissions tech - it's crazy how much less the 2018 will pollute. Plus, the 0-60 time will be much better with the added HP and same weight....
FWIW Ford's site lists the Taurus at 16/24. If the cars are even as the website suggests, 88 extra horsepower and zero else that I can benefit from daily is what I'm getting. A full size car under $30k with 30 mpg combined would be perfect for me. I guess I just expected more out of fuel effeciency development than for manufacturers to only focus on posting high mpg numbers on mid-size or smaller cars.
Maybe foreign options are available, but buying one is not an option for me. The Chevy Impala might be a tad better than the Taurus as an example, but I was just comparing Ford's progression. I'm afraid to buy a Chrysler. The Buick Lacrosse seems good on gas mileage, but is priced right at $30k and doesn't hit the 200Hp mark, and idk for sure that is their full-size car. Crossovers are more cramped than my current car, and SUVs sky rocket the price.
Horrible technology interfaces that are counterintuitive. Plus, touchscreen up and down arrows that are too small. I end up looking at the screen to make sure I don't inadvertently touch a name and call someone. But my biggest pet peeve is that cars no longer offer manual transmissions. Volkswagen, but that's about it.
Mine is that cars are bigger than they used to be. The new Tacoma is as big as 10 year old Tundras
New F150s are bigger than old F350s
And they're packed with creature comforts even at the base models. I want a real econobox back, dammit!
My cousin had an '85 tercel. Canvas floors. Cloth seats. 5 speed. De-Luxe AM/FM radio *with* cassette. A gazillion miles to the gallon. Death trap, but you knew that going in. 
My 96' GMC Sonoma looks like a Mosquito next to my '15 Chevy Colorado. It's absolutely bizarre how big trucks are getting.
is the Colorado holding up? Thinking about that or a Canyon for my next ride. I really am starting to need a truck for some things but I need good gas mileage. A gas guzzler it out of the question.
It's holding up really well and I love it. Very comfortable and spacious and three and a half years in and regular use and no sign of any issues.
Very happy with it and looking forward to putting my son in it in five and a half years.
It's the same for the Tacoma. I could barely fit in the old ones, but the new ones look like the size of the old Tundra.
Speaking of the Tundra, I'd love one for my next vehicle, but the design hasn't changed since '07, save for minor changes to the grill and the tailgate. The Ram has kept its design for even longer, I believe.
new ones weigh ~5K lbs, max. my old F350's weigh in at ~ 8K lbs and are longer and taller.
and for barebones, my first F350 was an '87 4x4 diesel crew with a 4 speed, vinyl seats, rubber floor (no mats) and an AM radio. made a hellaciously good plow truck too.
"my first F350 was an '87 4x4 diesel crew with a 4 speed, vinyl seats, rubber floor (no mats) and an AM radio. made a hellaciously good plow truck too. "
That sounds awesome.
i bought it from a logging company that had added a leaf spring all the way around, so its true capacity was probably 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 ton real life load and it had exceptional ground clearance. had a creeper gear that you could take your feet off the pedals and cruise through the endless UP 2-tracks with your dog, looking for grouse.
and it was a beautiful, though aged, dark blue color.
I have a 2017 "midsized" club cab Chevy Colorado that seems bigger (it is a foot longer) and carries less than my first truck a 1966 Chevy 1/2 Ton.
Full sized trucks today are monsters. I remember owning an Datsun pickup - a great econobox truck.
Back up cameras are my favorite invention of all time.
Seconded
1. Too expensive to buy new.
2. Far too expensive and complicated to work on.
This may be a good period for power/displacement ratio, but it's also an era from which there won't be many still running 50-75 years from now because of the ridiculous amount of electronic gizmotchery in them. I annually spend more money fixing the sensors that are supposed to report problems than I do on the actual problems they are supposed to report.
that is being discontinued
I purchased both a Jeep Patriot and Chrysler 200 in the past 2 years
HUGE rebates - great deals
Ford Sedans are being discontinued soon - some possibilities there
But they won't be selling sedans here. So says their CEO.
We own a 2008 Saturn Sky, a 1987 Pontiac Fiero, a 2001 New Beetle and a 1959 Sprite.
Discontinued vehicles come with their share of frustrations, not the least of which are lack of parts and lack of people who know how to work on them. More often than not I have to diagnose the problem, especially with the Sky, then take it in and tell the mechanic what to do to fix it. Left to diagnose the problem themselves, the car comes back with a big bill and the problem intact.
Huge rebates are the only way I would buy a Jeep. I like the way some of them look, but I have heard so many complaints from friends/co-workers.
I've heard that older Jeep models are very reliable. Seems like Jeeps/Chrysler started to have problems when they went to the 8 speed transmission.
We owned an 86 CJ7 for about eight years. Paid $4900 for it and put $6700 in to keep it running.
JEEP: Just Empty Every Pocket
Honestly, what I hate is that most cars don't even give you a choice for manual transmissions anymore. Used to be you could rely on European cars at least, but even those have largely gotten away from it. Now it's basically some Jeeps and an ever-shrinking number of exotic/sports cars, which aren't necessarily suitable for people who need to travel with literally anything other than another human being.
Jumping on the "too much technology" bandwagon here - why do cars need an electric button for the parking brake? had a friend who owned an audi and the parking brake button stopped working. wound up being a $5k repair job. luckily he was under warranty, but WTH?
My 2017 MDX has a similar parking brake button, but fingers crossed Honda/Acura has better design reliability.
I dont like how the windowless van options these days. There used to be more options.
They stopped making the El Camino.
This gripe goes back a bit.
The cost.
We have a 2008 Ford Taurus X with 207,000 miles on it. Over the life of the car we've had 2 mechanical problems that had to be fixed. The climate control set us back $350 and one of the cylinders was slipping which set us back $300. The only other problem is the heated front seats no longer work and are kind of expensive to repair - not worth it. Other than that it's just been consumables. The car still rides and drives like it did when it was new and doesn't have any squeaks or rattles.
My biggest gripe with new cars in general is the disappearance of manual transmissions.
The touch screen thing is absolute madness. The most infuriating part of my Cadillac CTS is that they have controls on the panel that are not part of the touch screen... but the buttons are touch based. So laggy and glitchy.
I absolutely love that the new 2019 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra kept climate control as manual buttons. Might be time to get into a truck now that they can actually deliver 20+ mpg...
I draw a conclusion somewhat like the OP's. All of these cars are the same, it basically doesn't matter what brand of car you get, the differences of each brand are so small. Each and every one of these big car manufacturers are just building clones at this point and its sad to see that there is no creative designs, like the high priced sports car industry or even cars back in the day. I just want to look at a car and be able to classify it by its looks, not the badge that is plastered on it. This is another reason why I miss cars like the hummer. You could visually see it and hear it coming, and could tell it apart from everything else on the road. It had its own unique build and no car on the market replicated it. I think what I'm saying is, that these car brands aren't making an effort anymore to seperate themselves, and it is watering down the car industry for all of us.